Controllable engine cowling



Nov. 22, 1938. CAMPBELL ET AL 2,137,386

CONTROLLABLE ENGINE COWLING Original Filed Oct. 19, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Kenneth Campbell %,P/IMpBA Tylor:

Nov. 22, 1938 K. CAMPBELL ET AL 2,137,386

CONTROLLABLE ENGINE COWLING Original Filed Oct. 19, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Kennel/7 Campbell #P/YIWPB. Tbylor Patented Nov. 22, 1938 PATENT OFFICE CONTROLLABLE ENGINE COWLING Kenneth Campbell, Radburn, and Philip E. Taylor, Upper Montclair, N. J., assignors to Wright Aeronautical Corporation, a corporation of New York Application October 19, 1935,:Serial No. 45,264

Renewed February 19, 1932 8 Claims.

This invention relates to cooling and cowling means for engines, and in certain respects comprises improvements on the co-pending application of Chilton, Serial No. 720,283, filed April 12, 1934. In that application there is disclosed a disc placed within the cowl entrance to define a radial air entrance to conform to the divergent flow existing behind the propeller and to prevent the recirculation and loss of air found to exist with .conventional open entrance cowls.

Recent improvements in finning and in pressure-baffles of air-cooled radial aircraft engines.

have greatly reduced the pressure differential across the bailies needed for adequate cooling. Previously, when this differential got down to a pressure of 5 H2O, or less, as may happen in slow speed climb, dificulty was encountered with cool I ing, but with the cylinder and baffle improvements necessarily great air fiow over the cylinders which absorbs an unnecessarily great proportion of the engine power.

Accordingly, a prime object of this invention is to provide a simple and improved means for ad-.

justing the air flow, so that the excess quantity passing in high speed flight, with conventional cowls, may be reduced so as merely to meet the cooling requirements; whereby the drag of the entire engine-cowling combination is also reduced. Associated objects are to provide improved and simplified means for effecting the desired cowl opening control.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a fragmentary axial section of the cowling of the invention, with the engine and propeller indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentaryend view; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the control mechanism.

In these drawings, l0 designates a conventional propeller hub having conventional blades I2. A conventional engine nose l4 and cylinders it are indicated in dotted lines. To the engine nose M there is secured a fixed circular mounting drum l8, provided with (preferably non-metallic) wearing strips 20 on which a cylindrical hub 22 of a large, slightly coned disc. 24 is free for limited rotation and sliding. The rim of the disc is guided by a plurality of links 26 comprising turnbuckles for adjustment having universal pivotal connections 28, 22, with the rim of the disc and the cylinder heads, respectively. These links 26 are oblique relative to the edge of the disc and thus guide the disc for coincidental axial and rotative movement, and the links may generally be defined as lying in a plane which bisects the angle between the engine axis and a normal thereto, said plane, in turn, being perpendicular to that plane which includes the engine axis and the normal. In other words, each link lies in a plane which makes substantially a 45 angle with the engine axis.

The rim of the disc 22 is of similar diameter to the entrance 32 defined by the usual inturned portion 32 at the front of the engine cowling ring. The disc 22 is rotated bodily through a link 35 by means of a suitable bellcrank lever ,36 pivoted to a suitable bracket 38 secured to one of the cylinder heads 21?, the lever 36 being also provided with a suitable control rod 22 running to a pilots control (not shown). On account of the angular disposition of the links 26, rotation of the cowling by the control 22, results in the disc being moved fore and aft to positions wherein the disc edge may be variably spaced from the cowl edge 32 to permit of variation in the amount of air entering within the cowling 32 for engine cooling purposes. The disc 22 is illustrated by full lines, in a forward position giving minimum opening, while the dotted lines 22 of Fig. 1 illustrate the open position to be used in slow' speed flight. In

operation the pilot will take 011' and climb with the cowl in its most open position and will adjust it towards the closed position for level flight, giving reduced air flow with correspondingly reduced power absorption for cooling. The usual cylinder head temperature indication may be used as a guide in adjusting the cowl. The disc is formed to take advantage of the radial air fiow behind the propeller as taught in said copending application.

While we have described our invention in de- 1. The combination with an engine cowl having a front entrance opening, of a disc disposed therein, swinging links guiding the rim of said disc for approximately helical movement, and control means for efiecting said movement.

2. The combination with an engine, of an embracing cowl having an air entrance, a disc defining an annular passage within said entrance, and links pivotably connecting said disc to said engine for variation in the area of said entrance.

3. The combination with an engine cowl, of an adjustable air entrance disc therein, and supporting and controlling means therefor comprising swinging links pivotably connected to said disc and engine.

4. The combination with an engine having a nose, of cylindrical supporting drum thereon, a disc having a hub engaging said drum for rotational and sliding movement thereon, a cowl embracing said disc for defining an adjustable annular air entrance opening between said cowl and disc, manual means for rotating said disc, and means responsive to disc rotation for axially moving said disc.

5. The combination with a radial cylinder engine, of angularly disposed links pivoted to the ends of certain cylinders, a disc ahead of and coaxial with said engine, the other ends of said links being pivoted to the disc edge, and means for swinging said disc, on said links, with respect to the engine cylinders.

6. The combination with a radial cylinder engine, oi angularly disposed links pivoted to the ends of certain cylinders, a disc ahead of and coaxial with said engine, the other ends of said links being pivoted to the disc edge, means for swinging said disc, on said links, with respect to the engine cylinders, and guide means for the central portion of said disc.

7. The combination with a radial cylinder engine, of angularly disposed links pivoted to the ends of certain cylinders, a disc ahead of and coaxial with'said engine, the other ends of said links being pivoted to the disc edge, means for swinging said disc, on said links, with respect to the engine cylinders, guide means for the central portion of said disc, and a ring cowl encircling said disc with the leading edge of which said disc is adapted to form a variable area air entrance opening.

8. In aircraft engine cowling an annular memher, a disc member movable relative thereto to adjust the area for airflow between the members, a plurality of circumferentially spaced links each attached. at one end to the aircraft and at its other end to one of said members, said links respectively lying in planes each of which substantially bisects the right angle between the engine axis and a normal to the engine axis, and control means for moving said disc member, said links imparting both axial and circumferential movement to said disc members upon controlled movement thereof.

PHILIP B. TAYLOR. KENNETH CAMPBELL. 

